Irrigation Bill
 

Has anyone had an excessive water bill that doesn't seem justified? 2 months ago we received a "water use" increase of over $100.00, 10,000 gallons more than usual. The months before and after were normal. Now today we received a bill for "irrigation use" for over $100.00 more than usual. We called the water dept. on the "water use" question and they said to get a plumber out and look at your water system. I checked my pressure myself and it's was OK. My "water use" bills have been normal for the past 2 months. Anyone else experiencing abnormal water bills?

Does your bill provide separate amounts for potable and irrigation usage? The term "water use" sounds like potable or "house" water, not irrigation water. Also, 10,000 gallons of irrigation water would only cost about $20, not $100. So, if your increase in usage is potable water, you could have a leaking toilet.

OP, I agree with above, you need to look for leaks. If your irrigation is included in the water bill, turn your irrigation on one zone at a time and look for broken sprinkler head(s), just had one myself, but a neighbor noticed it right away. You can put some food coloring in the toilet tank, and see if the water in the bowl turns that color, if it does you have a leak. The ACE hardware off 466 near Publix seems to have a lot of the Villages specific items, if you decide to repair the toilet yourself.
Hope this helps.
One other item, you can make sure all your faucets, etc are off, and look at the water meter, if the needle is moving, you have a leak, look around the lawn for a wet spot, then call plumber or irrigation as appropriate.

I agree...seems like many owners are trying to find an easy way out without doing a little work. I read another post this week and everyone seems to be pointing a finger at the water company and hoping that there is something wrong with their meter or wanting the water company to find out what is wrong with their water problems then they wonder why their water bill goes up. Take the time to look around and find out what might be wrong. If everyone continues to blame the water company and calling them for nothing it may not be long before they will be charging for a service call also.

I'm not seeing it as trying to find an easy way out without doing a little work.

I'm seeing it as "I've never experienced this before and I don't know what steps to take in order to investigate it further and get it resolved so I'm posting here in the hopes that someone here might have knowledge about it."

That IS - "a little work." They're reaching out to get guidance on something they know nothing about.

At the suggestion on an earlier post regarding irrigation water usage, I installed a FLUME monitoring device on my irrigation water meter. This simple to install and wireless device allows me monitor my irrigation system for leaks and for overwater consumption on each individual zone in my system.

The device is ~$200, and you need to have WiFi coverage out to your irrigation meter, but it sends alerts and notifications to your phone for issues and you can get real-time info about your system thru your phone or tablet.

I recommend this monitoring device if you are away a lot or if you have a larger lot that warrants this type of monitoring.

Thanks to Toymeister for his recommendation on this product:coolsmiley:

How do all these smart devices work when the power goes out in your neighborhood?

Although power failures rarely happen the controllers do have battery backups. Mine was disconnected for over a month this January when construction was being done on our garage and when I plugged it back in everything was "remembered." Some store the data (schedules etc) in "the cloud" so when power comes back it automatically downloads to the device. Plus if power is out so is irrigation even with a plain controller.

edit: ooops, thought you were referring to the WiFi irrigation controllers. I'm sure all the wifi type devices are pretty much the same. My WiFi pellet smoker barbecue controller does that as well as does my WiFi hose controller.

I can honestly say that don’t know what happens when the power is lost. The sensor is battery operated. However, if / when that power goes out, I care more about the things in my refrigerator and freezer than I do about the lawn watering...

All technology has its faults. I use this for what I can learn and help me to get the best use of the water that I use. It is not for everyone, but if you enjoy knowing, it MAY be a consideration.

Thanks for all your answers. BUT, in my case it was a 1 month bill that was $100.00 higher than the months before and the months after. I paid the excessive bill for the in house water. NOW I have an irrigation bill that's $100,00 higher than prior months. Just doesn't make sense. I did call on both bills and they said get a plumber. I asked if I could read the meter for them to see if they may have read it wrong, they said we don't want you to go in there. Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone else experienced such an increase in their water bills. Moving on!